What helps you on a long road trip?

Next Friday I'm flying out to Newark to pick up a clean little '91 318is to make my DD. Has some tasteful mods and low mileage E36 M42 in the car.

Since I'm going to leave Saturday morning (and alone) after hopefully getting a good night's sleep, I'm going to try to make it back to the casa in one shot. Newark, NJ to Tulsa, OK. At a minimum I won't call it a day until I see Missouri. I figure I might be able to pull it off since I did Stillwater, OK to Shreveport, LA - pulled an interior out of one car and put it in my other E30 - and then back to Stillwater in one shot.

Anything besides the typical Redbull/blaring music/full blast AC you guys use to stay up?

that is a LONG trip. I did Atlantic City to Ponca City Ok once... granted I waas driving an 18foot penske truck with a 12 foot trailer behind it.. but we wound up stopping in Missouri

Coffee. If you can get someone to go with you, do it. If you start to get tired, get off and get a [light] meal.

BTW, Pringles are the best road trip food. But they changed the design, and the cap no longer fits on the bottom

I usually carry 4 or 5 PB+J's, individually wrapped in Saran, plus lots of water, to hold me over between actual food/gas/bathroom stops.

Pack a Leatherman (but not in your carry-on bag). It can be handy for a million different small repairs that you may run into on a long road trip.

Plus, if you get sleepy, you can take out the little ice pick and jamb it into your leg.

Yeah, thats a long one to solo in one sitting. I would suggest a 6 am departure, drive 6 hours, have a sit down luch, possibly a short nap. 6 more hours, sit down dinner, short nap. The idea is to keep fresh, not wear youself out all at once. Save the cafinne for later in the trip (after 9) Just pull off and nap a bit as needed if you get really tired. Spending the night in a motel isn't all that bad, but I understand the frustration.

Driving at night works best for me. Much less traffic and I can concentrate on the road. Also I turn the music up loud and dance in my seat while singing at the top of my lungs - I'm in concert baby!

Audiobooks. If someone's telling you a story, the time flies by.

Congrats on the 318is purchase!
Let's hear some more about the car.

Google says your trip is just over 20 hours. That is a long haul in one day. I see no need to wreck the new purchase. Indianapolis seems to be about the halfway point.

I would think the real question is other than clothes, what should you pack (like tools) for this type of trip in an "unknown" vehicle?

It's a Sterling Silver slicktop '91 318is, has GC coilovers, Euro smiley's, HID's, skid plate, recent respray (not a great one, but pretty good). Been fairly well maintained.

I had the guys from GutenParts in Maplewood, NJ, go to Virginia and pick it up for me. They are going to do some more little things (subframe mounts and RTABs possibly, if needed), E36 SSK, chain tensioner, thermostat, maybe some Euro trim for the bumpers.

The car is on stock weaves since I didn't want to pay for his Borbets.

I'll probably also pull the black sport interior out of my S52 E30 and put it in this one. Then in the spring, the S52 car will hopefully get fixed backs, harnesses and a roll bar!

Oh and Keith, that's a great suggestion!

mtn, my dad was originally going to go, but I goofed and forgot to order the tickets. The price of the plane tickets doubled the next day.

mtn wrote: BTW, Pringles are the best road trip food. But they changed the design, and the cap no longer fits on the bottom

I know, it's so stupid, the diameter of the cap is off by less than a millimeter...

Co driver.

Seriously, buy the food and pop, maybe bring a hot chick who is not afraid to hum road songs.

^At $300 for my plane ticket, if I'd had to buy another $300 plane ticket + expenses to get back, then we would have reached the point where shipping the car would be the same price.

The whole reason for me flying up there and driving it back is to save a few hundred over shipping it.

If you want to stop in Indy, i can put you up for the night or at least give you a place to crash for a few hours.

But otherwise, to make it all the way through? Food. Lots of it. TONS of it. Lots of water. LOUD MUSIC.

I love long trips like that.

z31maniac wrote: ^At $300 for my plane ticket, if I'd had to buy another $300 plane ticket + expenses to get back, then we would have reached the point where shipping the car would be the same price. The whole reason for me flying up there and driving it back is to save a few hundred over shipping it.

Pick up a lot lizard in Newark. She might smell a little funny, but i'm sure she'll be great company.

I'll second audio book OR comedy on XM/Sirius. Makes trips go by WAY faster. Wish I had good ideas on how to stay awake, aside from the normal coffee/redbull/yadayada. If you get sleepy, pull over. That's some dangerous E36 M3!

And yeah, co-driver is an awesome idea. Sell it as an "adventure." Greatest road trip I've ever taken was with my brother from Boulder CO to Tampa FL (with a stop in New Orleans, of course)...in the middle of winter...with snow from CO through Kansas...in a '69 911T...that would put you in a ditch 30 feet off the road if you let go of the steering wheel for .0001 second...and broke down twice.

93celicaGT2 wrote: If you want to stop in Indy, i can put you up for the night or at least give you a place to crash for a few hours. But otherwise, to make it all the way through? Food. Lots of it. TONS of it. Lots of water. LOUD MUSIC. I love long trips like that.

Thank you for the gracious offer! Indy seems to be about the midpoint between Newark and Tulsa, go ahead and shoot me your number, it might just be good to get off the road for a bit and meet a fellow GRM'r!

^Info on the way!

Keith wrote: Audiobooks. If someone's telling you a story, the time flies by.

doubly so is you have a Hammond or May audio book

z31maniac wrote: Next Friday I'm flying out to Newark to pick up a clean little '91 318is to make my DD. Has some tasteful mods and low mileage E36 M42 in the car. Since I'm going to leave Saturday morning (and alone) after hopefully getting a good night's sleep, I'm going to try to make it back to the casa in one shot. Newark, NJ to Tulsa, OK. At a minimum I won't call it a day until I see Missouri. I figure I might be able to pull it off since I did Stillwater, OK to Shreveport, LA - pulled an interior out of one car and put it in my other E30 - and then back to Stillwater in one shot. Anything besides the typical Redbull/blaring music/full blast AC you guys use to stay up?

Company. Extra points if it's another enthusiast, and they can co-drive/read a map/look out for cops, etc.

Cleaning up after the first 8-10hrs. used to help me. A lot of truck stops have shower facilities, but you'll need to bring an anti-fungal for your feet.

And congrats on the find! I didn't realize I missed being a BMW guy so much until I ran into 02driver on another thread a couple of days ago..

friedgreencorrado wrote: Cleaning up after the first 8-10hrs. used to help me. A lot of truck stops have shower facilities, but you'll need to bring an anti-fungal for your feet.

Flip flops. Its probably about a dollar at WallyWorld.

I can't drive at night at all. Even if I wasn't tired when I got in the car, I'll be hallucinating after an hour or so for some reason. I like to drive in the wee hours of the morning (just before sunrise) and let the day keep me going. As it was recommended above, you might want to nap from time to time throughout the trip. If you feel like you might fall asleep--even if it's the slightest indication--find a rest stop, set an alarm on your phone for at least 45 minutes, and pass the hell out.

Stay your ass away from caffeine for as long as possible. I don't recommend energy drinks because they'll knock you out after an uncomfortable, jittery rush. If you drink too many, you'll also have to poo and it won't be pleasant. Try caffeine-free 5 Hour Energy in Berry flavor. They don't give me any sort of rush, but they seem to keep me from wearing out--it might keep you more alert. Use caffeine as a last resort and give it about 30 minutes to kick in (a good time for a nap!).

The longest road trip I've been able to do was about 30 hours straight (NY to Williamsport, PA; to York, PA to switch cars; to Valdosta, Georgia). I wanted to kill myself.

Seriously, don't fool yourself with the A/C and loud music. It probably does help for a little while, but hey, you're driving a car and that alone isn't enough to keep some from falling asleep! E36 M3, I sleep with my A/C on in my room for the noise and the cool air.

Good luck and have fun!

Somewhere they say coffee (or caffeine in general) is more effective than a short nap. I'd still try to get someone with you, then combine all these suggestions together. Get out of the car every several hours and move around. You don't want blood clots, and it'll keep you awake. If you can get someone else, switch off driving, but stay awake to keep the driver alert. It's harder to stay awake when everyone else is sleeping

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT overdose on caffeine

been there, done that, wanted to drive into a bridge abutment to end it all.

I got home speaking in tongues and hit my bed and couldnt sleep. It ranks up there as one of the most sick ive ever felt experiences. I literally could not speak intelligibly.

to get me to that point we are talking 4 cups of coffee and 3 vivran. (i was quite skinny at the time)

caffeine as a last resort and in moderation!

(only warning because it was an experience I wouldnt wish on anyone.)

Whatever keeps you upbeat, you start getting bored you start getting tired. If all else fails pull off at a supermarket or something and get a catnap.